Machine for cleaning and polishing tin sheets.



W. L. McKEAN.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING TIN SHEETS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18; I915- Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W III/4m COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH C0,,wAsmNu'ioN. D. c.

. L. McKEAN. MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING TIN SHEETS APPLICATIONFILED MAR. 18. I915.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHINGTON. D. c.

UNITEE) STATES P IENT WILLIAM L. MCKEAN, OF MARTIN'S FERRY, OHIO.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING AND POLISHING TIN SHEETS.

Application filed March 18, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. MoKnAN, residing at Martins Ferry, in thecounty of Belmont and State of Ohio, a citizen of the United States,have invented or discovered certain new and useful Improvements in 5 aretransverse sections of the rolls, Fig. l showing rldges or projectionson therolls 1n contact with the sheet and Fig. 5 showing bran held indepressed portions of the roll in contact with the sheet.

In the manufacture of tin plate, the pickled sheets are passed downthrough a box containing a suitable flux into the molten tin, and arethen moved upwardly out of the tin and through a quantity of palm oil orother suitable material adapted to pro "tect the tin from oxidationwhile solidifying. While the sheet is passing Vertically through the oilthe excess of tin will drain ofi, being maintained in a molten conditionby the palm oil. But as the tin adherent to the sheet is not uniformlydistributed and the thickness of the coating is greater than desired ornecessary, the sheet is passed between a series of accurately turnedrolls, ar-

ranged in tandem vertically in the palm oil so that the tin will bemaintained in molten condition while the sheets are in the bite of therolls. These rolls operate to squeeze off all surplus tin and insure aneven distribu. tion of the thin coat adherent to the sheets.

As before stated, the palm oil serves not only to keep the tin moltenwhile the sheets are passed between the rolls, but the film of oil onthe tinned or coated surfaces protects the latter from oxidation towhich the tin is susceptible while in a molten or highly heatedcondition. While the use of palm oil or anyequivalent material isnecessary during the coating operation its presence on the surfaces,renders the sheets useless for practically all purposes and musttherefore be Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915..

Serial No. 15,309.

removed. It is necessary not only to remove all traces of the oil fromthe surfaces of the sheets but such surfaces must be bufied or polishedfor the reason that the coating is generally only one ten thousandth (1/l0,000) of an inch in thickness and being laid on the dark steelsurfaces will appear dull. On account of the thinness of the coating thecleaning and builing or polishing of the sheets must be effected bymeans of a material not liable to injure the thin tin coating. As theoil can be most easily removed before it has solidified and as the tincoating must be completely solidified before being subjected to thebuffing operation, the cleaning and polishing must be quickly effectedwhile the sheets are at a temperature at which the above conditionsoccursimultaneously. Formerly the cleaning and polishing were effectedby passing the sheets through a mass of saw dust, middling, bran orother suitable material. This crude method has been supplanted byfeeding bran, etc, together with the sheet between pairs of rolls formedof disks of fibrous material, one roll of each pair rotating at a higherspeed than the other roll. In some forms of machines the rolls arearranged in a box filled with bran, sawdust or other material, and inanother the rolls were horizontally mounted in a box and the latterfilled to a level slightly above a plane tangential to the lower rolls.In both forms of machines the rolls of each pair are spaced a slightdistance apart so as to insure a substantial layer of bran passing intothe bite of the rolls on each side of the sheets, the movements of thesheets being effected by means other than the rolls or by the rollsoperating through the layers of bran, the rate of movement of the sheetsbeing the average of the peripheral speeds of the rolls. In both formsof machines the particles of bran or other material were only slightlycompacted together and the oil was drawn from the surfaces of the sheetsprincipally by capillary attraction into the minute spaces between theparticles of cleaning material or absorbed by the particles themselves.The buffing was due solely to the movement of the particles along thesurfaces the pressure of the particles on the surfaces being light. Adecided improvement in the operation of these machines was brought aboutby adjusting the rolls so that their peripheries would bear firmly oneagainst the other and consequently with gether and against the surfacesof the sheets when in the bite of the rolls. As the particles of branare yielding and resilient they form a dense layer when compacted, butwhen freed from the bite of the rolls the compacted layers open up andwith spongelike action suck the oil from the surfaces. And further whileso compacted the bran operates more efficiently to buff or polish thesurfaces.

Although the rolls when new have reguif lar uniform surfaces, the latterdo not wear uniformly and ridges or projections a are soon formed asshown in Fig. 5, and it is the usual practice to rotate the rolls incontact with one another in bran without sheets passing between them,until soft surfaces suitable for bufiing are formed. When the rolls arethus worn the tops of the projections or ridges force the greater partof the bran aside and some directly into contact with the sheets asshown in Fig. 3, and the bran will pass into the bite of the rolls atthe depressed spots or grooves as shown in Fig. 4, so that in one pairof rolls only portions of the surface will be cleaned and polished.Hence four or more pairs of rolls are employed so as to insure acomplete cleaning and polishing.

It will be readily understood that particles 7 of bran more or lesssoaked with oil should less completely charged with oil will not operateefficiently. And further where the rolls rotate in a body of bran,particles charged with oil may be carried around by the rolls althoughnot tightly adherent thereto, and forced in between the rolls and sheeta second time.

The invention described herein which has for its object a constructionand combina tionof parts or elements whereby bran or other material isprevented frombeing brought a second time in contact with the surface ofthe sheets, is hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the practice of the invention a series of pairs of rolls 1, 2, 3, 1,etc., have their journals mounted in blocks 5 and 6 arranged in windows7 in the sides 8 of the machine. The bearing blocks 6 of the lower rollsrest on the bottoms of the windows but the bearing blocks 5 are movablein the windows by the screws 9 to regulate the pressure of the rolls onthe sheets and bran passing between them. As hereinbefore stated thebodies of these rolls are yielding consisting of disks of closecompacted fibers, and it is preferred that the rolls should be soadjusted that the surfaces in contact one with the other or with thesheets will be substantially fiattened, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and A.

In cleaning the sheets the latter are placed on the table 10 at thefront end of the machine and slid into the bite of the first pair ofrolls. WVhile moving into the bite of the rolls the sheets pass througha pileof bran which has collected in a pocket formed by the rolls 1 andblock 11 interposed between the lower roll and a cross bar 12 secured tothe frontvends of the sides of the machine. The bran is fed in a thinstream through the spout 13 onto the revolving distributing screen 14which throws it against the upper roll from which it drops into thepocket. In order to maintain a sufficient quantity of bran intermediateof adjacent pairs of rolls, the space between the lower rolls of eachpair is closed by a member 15 which is preferably formed of an angle asshown in Fig. 1. It is preferred that these members which bear againstadjacent lower rolls, should be so mounted as to have a rocking orswinging movement as they are subjected to the uneven surfaces of therolls.

When angle bars are employed the lower ends 7 16 of rods 17 are turnedinwardly to serve as pivotal supports for the bars. ends of the rodspass through lugs 18 and are threaded for the reception of nuts, wherebythe positions of the angle bars may be adjusted. In the operation of themachine it is preferred that the members 15 should be so adjustable asto exert a slightly deforming pressure on the rolls or to leave somespace according to the condition and character of the cleaning materialso that any crust of bran adhering to the surfaces of the rolls will bebroken up when the surface of the roll is deformed or will be rubbed offby the bran and will be carried along it until the particles candrop. Ifany particles are not removed by the first member encountered they willbe scraped off by the next member, which will then be crowded againstthe upward moving face of the roll so no particle can pass a second timeinto contact with a sheet. A substantial interval occurs between themovements of succeeding sheets into the rolls and hence the latter whichrotate at considerable speed will bear on one another or rather on suchlayer of bran as may be drawn in between the rolls. 'Asthe rolls are soadjusted as to bear with a surface deforming pressure one on the otherany particles forming such crust will be carried around by the lowerroll and-discharged. The scraping member 15 bearing against The upperthe upwardly moving surface of the front lower roll, is adjustablysupported by the cross-bar 12. The ends of the pockets for the bran orother material formed by adjacent rolls and the part or member 15, maybe closed by plates 19 suitably supported by the sides of the frame, asshown in Fig. 2.

I claim herein as my invention:

1. In a machine for cleaning and polishing tin sheets, the combinationof a plurality of spaced pairs of rolls, and means arranged betweenadjacent lower rolls for supporting cleaning material in the line ofmovement of the sheets through the machine.

2. In a machine for cleaning and polishing tin sheets, the combinationof a 'plurality of pairs of rolls having yielding surfaces, and meansfor applying deforming pressure to the surfaces of the lower rolls atpoints below the axes of the rolls.

In a machine for cleaning and polishing tin plates, bars arrangedintermediate adjacent lower rolls, and means for adjusting the positionsof the bars relative to the 4 rolls.

WILLIAM L. McKEAN.

Witnesses:

J. G. MEDILL, W. J. SOHMITT.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

